SpiceRoots

Roasted Red Pepper Fougasse #BreadBakers

August 9, 2016

Share with:

I am back baking with my bread baking group after a long long time. I couldn’t wait to share my Roasted Red Pepper Fougasse recipe and I had so much fun making this bread. Thanks to Sue from A Palatable Pastime , who chose the theme of peppers for us this month and is our host. We have many peppery goodies for you this month, so be sure to check the blogs listed on this post for more inspirations and recipes.

This recipe of roasted red pepper fougasse tastes best when made with freshly roasted peppers. I like to keep them just a tad bit crunchy so that the peppers have a bite in them when eaten as part of the bread. It adds an element of texture which I quite like.

I make this particular fougasse with the starter method. So planning a little ahead of time is important. As with all breads, you spend more time waiting for the dough to do its thing than active prepping and baking. And since this doesn’t require a lot of attention, I make the starter a day before when I start to make dinner. By the time I am done with dinner, the starter is ready to be made into a dough. Once the dough forms I leave it in the fridge overnight and then take it out 2 hours before I want to bake it. This allows flavors to develop overnight and gives me more control on when I want to bake the bread.

I love to smother my fougasse in more olive oil than should be legally allowed, but it is just so so so good with the Olive oil. It’s like fougasse was made for olive oil.

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

combine yeast and water and mix to dissolve the yeast. Let it stand for a few minutes until frothy.

In a medium bowl, add the flour and yeast mix and stir to combine. cover and set aside to double in volume.

Dough

Combine the starter, the liquids, garlic and peppers and add to the bowl of a stand mixer

Add flour and salt and using a dough hook, knead for about 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and builds some resistance to stretching

Place in a lighlty greased bowl and cover and leave in the fridge overnight

A couple of hours before making the bread, take the dough out and leave it to warm up and ferment on the counter.

Preheat to 450°F.

Line two baking sheets with parchment.

Once the dough is double in size, punch it down and make 4 equal portions

Roll each portion to an oval

Transfer to prepared baking sheets.

Make several incisions in each oval, cutting through dough to make it look like a leaf.

Cover loosely with a moist kitchen towel and let rise in warm draft-free area until slightly puffed, about 20 minutes.

Brush with a little olive oil and bake until golden on top and slightly crisp on bottom, switching sheets between racks and turning front of each sheet to back of oven halfway through baking, about 15 minutes.

Transfer bread to cooling racks and eat after it has cooled down slightly.